The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

A Commentary

Patrick Thornberry

Provides the first systematic article-by-article analysis of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Incorporates up-to-date developments in State practice and the practice of the CERD Committee, detailing how it implements the reporting and complaints procedures of the Convention

Addresses a wide range of related issues including the expansion of the Convention to cover religious defamation, initiatives to improve racial tolerance through education, and the contemporary victims of racial discrimination

The author, Patrick Thornberry, is a member of the CERD Committee

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

A Commentary

Patrick Thornberry

Description

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is the centrepiece of international efforts to address racial discrimination, defined in broad terms to include discrimination based on skin colour, descent, ethnic, and national origin. Victims of discrimination within the scope of the Convention include minorities, indigenous peoples, non-citizens, and caste or descent groups. Virtually all national societies are diverse in terms of ethnicity or 'race' and none is free from discrimination, making it one of the great issues of our time.

Against the background of international human rights standards and mechanisms to counter racial and ethnic discrimination, this book provides the first comprehensive legal analysis of the provisions of the Convention on an article-by article basis. The book addresses the place of the Convention within the broader framework of United Nation's action against discrimination. The different chapters analyse and discuss broad topics of race, ethnicity, and international law, the genesis and drafting of the Convention, the aims and objectives of the Convention in light of its preamble, and principles of non-discrimination and equality. In particular, the book includes a critical appraisal of the contribution of the Convention to the eradication of racial discrimination. It also reflects on whether there is scope for modification of the substance or procedures of the Convention in light of challenges arising from enhanced transnational population movements, the intersection between discrimination on the ground of race and discrimination against religious communities, and the intersection of racial and gender-based discrimination.

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

A Commentary

Patrick Thornberry

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Race and ethnicity in international law2. Genesis and drafting of the convention; the swastika epidemic, the Cold War, anti-colonialism3. The Preamble to the Convention: context and themes4. Discrimination 1: Equality, special measures, and the scope of the Convention5. Discrimination 2: Grounds and victims of discrimination.6. Discrimination 3: Intersectionalities, gender, religion7. Discrimination, public authorities, and private actors8. Apartheid and segregation9. Racist and analogous forms of hate speech10. Racial discrimination and the spectrum of human rights11. Remedies for racial discrimination12. Anti-racist education and education for tolerance13. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and its procedures: An introduction14. Reports, individual and inter-state communications, follow-up mechanisms15. The General Recommendations16. Early warning and urgent action procedures17. Petitions and the Colonial Declaration18. Final clauses 1: Ratifications, reservations, the possibility of denunciation19. Final clauses 2: Disputes and the role of the International Court of Justice; amendment of the Convention20. Conclusions and appraisal: The contribution of the Convention, challenges, and prospects

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

A Commentary

Patrick Thornberry

Author Information

Patrick Thornberry CMG is Emeritus Professor of International Law at Keele University, and a Fellow of Kellogg College, University of Oxford. Professor Thornberry has been a member of CERD - the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - since 2001 and was rapporteur of that Committee from 2002 until Spring 2008. He is a former Chairman of Minority Rights Group International and has acted as consultant and adviser to a range of international organizations. Patrick Thornberry is the author of numerous works in the field of minority rights, rights of indigenous peoples, and racial discrimination.